Seeking edge, Democrats meddle in GOP races

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“There’s no question that they’re meddling,” MacArthur said in an interview. “I think it’s very clear what they’re after. They think [Lonegan is] a candidate they can beat in November, and they think I’m a candidate they can’t beat in November.”

The Democratic groups doing the dirty work aren’t eager to promote their role in it, and for good reason. If Republican primary voters were aware that they were viewing advertisements from Democrats, they’d be less likely to be swayed. Patriot Majority USA did not respond to several requests for comment. Matt Thornton, a House Majority PAC spokesman, wasn’t much more talkative.

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“There’s really not much to say,” he wrote in an email.

It’s not the first time Democrats have tried to capitalize on the age-old notion that the “enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

In 2012, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill jumped into the Republican primary, airing commercials promoting Rep. Todd Akin, who was seen as her weakest general election rival. The ads called Akin “the most conservative congressman in Missouri,” said he was a “crusader against bigger government,” and declared that he had a “pro-family agenda.”

At the same time, McCaskill ran commercials that undermined two prospectively stronger Republican foes in the primary. Akin would go on to win the nomination and be routed by McCaskill in the general election after making controversial remarks about rape.

And in the 2002 California governor’s race, Democratic incumbent Gray Davis made a splash when he ran ads in the Republican primary calling former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan untrustworthy on key issues. Riordan had long been seen as the GOP front-runner and a serious threat to the governor, but Davis’ damaging ad campaign opened the door for another candidate, conservative businessman Bill Simon, to win the primary. Simon, a political neophyte, went on to lose to Davis.

At the time, recalled top Davis strategist Garry South, the idea of a Democrat meddling in a Republican primary was a novel one.

“We were weak. There was no doubt about it,” he said. But “when we started airing that ad, [Riordan] slid like a greased pig down a pole. … It became the defining moment of that campaign.”

This year’s primary battles are far more intense for Republicans than for Democrats, and GOP leaders and their allies, wary of tea party hopefuls who could flounder in November, have directed millions toward shoring up establishment-friendly candidates against conservative insurgents. So far this year, Democrats have been unsuccessful in pushing one of those insurgents over the top.

Despite Wager’s ads in Ohio, Lynch lost badly to Joyce. In the Republican primary for a North Carolina Senate seat, establishment favorite Thom Tillis easily prevailed over tea party-backed rivals even though a Democratic super PAC aired hard-hitting ads against him.

MacArthur, Nestande and Ose also are expected to prevail Tuesday. The trio have far outraised their conservative opponents.

MacArthur maintains that the Democratic mischief-making isn’t breaking through. “I think people … are seeing through it,” he said. “I’ve spoken to many people in the last few days who are know something is afoot.”

Even if they don’t succeed in preventing mainstream Republicans from winning primaries, Democrats point out that tarnishing an establishment candidate early on can pay off in November.

In a battleground race such as the one for Arizona’s 1st District, where advertising from both parties is expected to be prolific, House Majority PAC ads are labeling Tobin an “insurance company executive” who wants to increase prescription costs for seniors. It’s a line Democrats are likely to replicate in the fall should he win his primary.

“The Democratic opponents wouldn’t be attacking me if they didn’t think I was the best candidate,” Tobin said. “My dad always told me that if you’re not the target, then you’re not going to take any flak. So I guess I’m the target.”